Glastonbury-goers will be treated to their first day of big music acts with Arcade Fire headlining the Pyramid Stage later.

Campers will be hoping for clear skies after rain dampened proceedings yesterday afternoon but are likely to be disappointed as more is forecast with the Met Office issuing a yellow warning alert.

Among the acts performing on the Pyramid Stage today (June 27) are Elbow, Lily Allen and Rudimental, while others include Haim, MIA and Jurassic 5.

Also playing on some of the more than 100 stages at the site will be Crystal Fighters, Metronomy, Wild Beasts and Blondie.

The day got off to a rousing start as a 17-piece Japanese orchestra made an enthusiastic effort to banish the bad weather.

Turtle Island kicked off proceedings on the Pyramid Stage, drawing a small crowd to their pulsating punk-rock beats.

As steady rain fell on the Somerset site, many appeared reluctant to leave the relative comfort of their tents, while others tentatively ventured out in wellies and anoraks to see just how much mud they might have to contend with.

Although the rain - expected to continue throughout the day - is not welcome to many, stall holders who are charging £15 a go for wellies and waterproofs were enjoying a roaring trade.

Apart from music there is plenty more to divert festival-goers' attention. The Left Field, which is celebrating its 10th year this year and describes itself as the "meeting place of pop and politics", will be opened with a tribute to Labour stalwart Tony Benn, who died earlier this year.

Meanwhile the Greenpeace area will have fashion designer and environmental campaigner Vivienne Westwood as a guest speaker on a range of issues including fracking and climate change.

For those not lucky enough to be at Glastonbury, the BBC's television coverage will begin from today for music fans to enjoy from the comfort of their own homes.

It will mainly be broadcast on BBC Two but will also be shown on BBC Three and Four, with more than 250 hours of radio, TV, red button and online streaming expected to be shown thanks to around 300 BBC staff and freelancers who will be on site.

Canadian indie band Arcade Fire, who recently performed a series of sell-out shows in London, have hinted that they may be joined on stage by some local acts.

Multi-instrumentalist Richard Reed Parry told this week's NME: "I can't tell you in advance but we may have Somerset artists."

They have the honour of headlining the Pyramid Stage ahead of Metallica and Kasabian who take top billing over the next two days.